Record numbers of students quit university courses last year as the higher education drop-out rate soared above 30,000 for the first time, official figures show. More than one-in-five undergraduates are failing to compete the first year of their degree at the worst-performing universities, it emerged, prompting fears that millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money is being wasted on unwanted courses. At some universities, an estimated four-in-10 students will fail to finish the course they started after either dropping out, switching to another institution or graduating with a lesser qualification.Read more

Over £1 billion spent on student retention as drop out rate at universities hits 30,000 July 8th, 2016